Manhunt – Royal Court

Back in the summer of 2010, the nation was glued to their news channels as police carried out the country’s largest manhunt for Raoul Moat after he shot three people, one fatally.

True crime is a morbid fascination for many, but one that usually transfigures into podcasts, TV dramas, or Netflix documentaries. This time, Robert Icke is dissecting the life and mind of one of the UK’s most renowned criminals this century through his new play Manhunt, which is making its debut at the Royal Court.

Inspired by a book by journalist Andrew Hankinson, Manhunt envelopes us in the complex interior and exterior worlds of Raoul Moat (played by Samuel Edward-Cook), jumping between timelines as he explains what drove him to shoot his ex-partner Sam (Sally Messham), Sam’s new partner (Leo James), and a police officer on roadside patrol. The whole show is loosely framed within his trial for the murder, which we know is just a product of his imagination given that Moat shot himself in the head and quickly died after his six-hour standoff with police. This lens gives Icke the space to explore Moat’s psyche in disturbing depth without being confined by the reins of fact; several seemingly illuminating moments are quickly followed by the statement “that didn’t happen”.

Edward-Cook’s central performance, which begins with him pacing around a metal cage while a birds-eye-view live feed is projected onto a large screen, is visceral and enthralling. He captures both Moat’s fury and humanity in spades rather than painting him with broad strokes. Interacting with a young boy who acts as a stand-in for his childhood, we soon discover his early life was characterised by abuse, neglect, and a lack of a robust masculine influence.

His blatant cravings for love and attention are projected onto his former partner Sam and his children, one of whom we discover at the start of the play he’s been charged with assaulting. While he persistently denies the claims to other characters on stage as well as the audience, the glimmers of violent rage that Edward-Cook allows to brew in his performance make his insistence impossible to trust. This provides the crux of Manhunt’s intrigue: is Moat a man who genuinely believes he’s a victim of wrongdoing, or has he resigned himself to fulfilling the role he feels he’s been set up to play?

It’s a delicate and complex thesis, and while Edward-Cook’s performance left me with plenty of food for thought, Icke’s script tackles so many themes that it’s not always crystal clear what Manhunt is trying to say.

The singular 95-minute act explores toxic masculinity, childhood trauma, classism, police corruption and more as potential explanations for Moat’s actions, and while there can certainly be no singular reason for a person deciding to commit such a crime, the wealth of ideas can get a bit mucky. A repeated motif of the nursery rhyme ‘What Are Little Boys Made Of?’ feels too on the nose, while a section of Moat’s final monologue about body image feels startlingly reminiscent of America Ferrera’s Oscar-nominated speech from the Barbie movie.

The non-linear narrative certainly works well to create a sense of unease and chaos, but Icke occasionally dwells on moments that feel out of place. A lengthy monologue from the police officer Moat randomly shot and blinded plunges us into prolonged total darkness as he explains the crushing aftermath of the incident, but this feels shoehorned in, particularly because we never get to hear the perspective of Sam outside of her conversations with Moat.

Visually, the production is stunning. Hildegard Bechtler’s stage design shines with a sleek brutality, heightened by Ash J Woodward’s stark and oppressive video design. After the extended blackout, the set is impressively transformed into the fields of Rothbury as Moat hides from police for almost a week, culminating in the desperate standoff.

Manhunt is a uniquely uncomfortable theatrical experience that makes its mark in many ways, especially within Edward-Cook’s unsettlingly engaging performance, but the overall message becomes too discombobulating to truly hit home.

Manhunt is at Royal Court until 3rd May. Buy tickets from: https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/manhunt/

Reviewed: Olivia Cox

Reviewed: 9th April 2025

North West End UK Rating: